ティアマトの神話には2つの部分があることが示唆されている。一つは、異なる水同士の神聖な結婚によって、歴代を通じて平和的に宇宙を創造する創造主の女神である。二つ目に、混沌戦争では、ティアマトは原初の混沌を具現化した怪物とされた<ref>Dalley, Stephanie (1987). Myths from Mesopotamia. Oxford University Press. p. 329.</ref>。海蛇や龍のイメージと同化する資料もある<ref>Jacobsen, 1968, pp104-108</ref>。
バビロニアの創造叙事詩『エヌマ・エリシュ』では、ティアマトが第一世代の神々を産む。夫のアプスーは、彼らが自分を殺して王位を奪おうと企んでいると正確に推測し、後に彼らに戦いを挑み、殺された。
In [[Mesopotamian religion]], '''Tiamat''' ({{lang-akk|{{cuneiform|7|𒀭𒋾𒊩𒆳}}}} {{transl|akk|<sup>[[dingir|D]]</sup><small>TI.AMAT</small>}} or {{Script/Cuneiform|7|𒀭𒌓𒌈}} {{transl|akk|<sup>[[dingir|D]]</sup><small>TAM.TUM</small>}}, {{lang-grc|Θαλάττη|Thaláttē}}) is a primordial [[water god|goddess of the sea]], mating with [[Abzu|Abzû]], the god of the [[Groundwater|groundwater]], to produce younger gods. She is the symbol of the chaos of primordial creation. She is referred to as a woman and described as "the glistening one". It is suggested that there are two parts to the Tiamat [[mythos]]. In the first, she is a creator goddess, through a [[Hieros gamos|sacred marriage]] between different waters, peacefully creating the cosmos through successive generations. In the second [[Chaoskampf]] Tiamat is considered the monstrous embodiment of [[primordial chaos]].<ref name="StephanieDalley">{{cite book |first=Stephanie |last=Dalley | author-link=Stephanie Dalley |title=Myths from Mesopotamia |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1987 |pages=329 }}</ref> Some sources identify her with images of a [[sea serpent]] or [[dragon]].
In the ''[[Enûma Elish]]'', the [[Babylon]]ian [[Epic poetry|epic]] of [[Creation myth|creation]], Tiamat bears the first generation of deities; her husband, Apsu, correctly assuming that they are planning to kill him and usurp his throne, later makes war upon them and is killed. Enraged, she also wars upon her husband's murderers, bringing forth multitudes of monsters as offspring. She is then slain by [[Enki]]'s son, the storm-god [[Marduk]], but not before she had brought forth the monsters of the Mesopotamian pantheon, including the first dragons, whose bodies she filled with "poison instead of blood". Marduk then integrates elements of her body into the heavens and the earth.